


La Llorona

by seamonster



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Dad 76, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, M/M, Sombra is a little shit, They're a Family, Urban Legends, but when is she not, family au, gabriel loves halloween too much, halloween fic, hana is an infant, i love them, jack is such a dad fight me, that i sorta made up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 15:04:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16410752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seamonster/pseuds/seamonster
Summary: Halloween is the time for spooky stories and urban legends. Like the weeping woman Sombra has been telling everyone about.But a late night trip to the river reveals that all urban legends come from somewhere...





	La Llorona

**Author's Note:**

> if you want, you can follow me on twitter @seamobeemo 
> 
> okay guys, listen, i'm still new to writing for this fandom and i've already establish a distinctive trend with what i'm writing. i'm sorry. i just, i really love dad 76.

 

“Suddenly, there was a chill in the air, and Marco knew he wasn't alone. He turned to the opposite bank and a scream froze in his throat! Allí estaba ella! La llorona!!”

 

The kids hanging on her every word jumped in their seats, some letting out little screams that had their bus driver barking back at them to quiet down. The story went on in slightly more hushed voices.

 

“Marco ran as fast as he could from the creek, but the sun was setting too low and the sound of crying followed his every step. He turned a corner and BOO!”

 

More screams and yelling from the bus driver.

 

“‘ _No hay escapatoria, mi hijoooooo’_ she whispered, her wet hair wrapping around his throat. ‘ _Duerme ahora, mi chico_ . _Sleeeep_.’ Marco was never seen or heard from ...again.”

 

Sombra grinned behind her mask as the other kids shivered and whined in fear. The bus bumped along the neighborhood roads and she caught the driver giving her the stink-eye in his rear-view mirror. She shrugged in silent response.

 

“Sombra! Is Llorona really real?” A kid a few grades beneath her was wide-eyed as he stared down the empty, drawn eyes of her mask. She nodded sagely.

 

“She's very real; mi papa told me so and he would never lie.”

 

The bus eased to a stop and a few kids shuffled out of their seats, grabbing their backpacks. From the back of the bus, where the high schoolers preferred to dominate, came the sound of heavy boots before the weight of a hand places itself on the top of her head.

 

“Yanno pops told you that story so you'd stop trying to sneak out at night, right? Sour Olive.”

 

“My name is Sombra!” She protested, shoving his greasy teenager hand off of her hair and smoothing it back out. He just chuckled.

 

“Whatever you say, Liv. Now get the lead outta your shoes.”

 

Olivia huffed but shouldered her bag. She refused to take off her pink sugar skull mask, even though the eye holes were small and poked through with a pencil and even though she nearly tripped off the bus. (She also pretended to not feel her brother hold onto her bag strap to keep her upright. He didn't say anything either.)

 

More kids spilled off the bus with them, streaming out into the cul-de-sac and racing each other home. Olivia and Jesse didn't have to go far, their house was right on the corner. While it's curb-appeal was normally very suburban, it was currently dressed to the nines in everything Halloween. There were orange lights and fake spiderwebs over plastic skulls and carved jack-o-lanterns. The whole yard was a cemetery, gravestones made of heavy duty styrofoam and painted with keen skill to looked aged and weathered. Black streamers covered the porch and blew ominously in the wind, a few having come loose from the masking tape and now fluttered from the ground. Neither of them were interested to picking them up.

 

Again.

 

The garage looked empty still.

 

“They must be workin’ late,” Jesse hummed, fishing his house keys out of his pocket.

 

“Or they've abandoned us; decided having kids was a mistake, bought two one-way tickets to the Caribbean, and are right now lounging on a houseboat like their honeymoon never ended.”

 

Jesse paused in unlocking the door, giving his sister a weird look.

 

It prompted her to add, “in the buff.”

 

She relished in the quick look of pained horror that crossed Jesse’s face.

 

“That is **not** a visual I ever wanted to imagine. What is wrong with you?”

 

“I'm an orphan,” she answered with a shrug and no hesitation.

 

“ _Y oouuu are a looo ved  chiiilllld.”_

 

They thought they were alone on the porch but, as they both turned, they found a tall, imposing figure of a man in black robes and a stark, white skull-like face emerge from between the streamers, where he'd been hiding.

 

It might have been a little spooky were it not eighty degrees out and three-thirty in the afternoon.

 

“Oh, hey pops. Didn't know you were home. Where's tha van?”

 

“How are you not boiling to death in that? You naked under there or something?”

 

“Liv, please, stop…”

 

The Reaper sighed and pulled his mask off, rubbing a gloved, clawed hand through the sweaty curls on top of his head as he pushed the hood back.

 

“Dammit, you two aren't scared of anything anymore.”

 

“Or we're just used to you.”

 

Jesse snorted, finally pushing the door open and letting the cool A/C envelope him. Olivia followed with their father, who slipped the mask off her face quicker than she could stop him, appraising it out of her reach.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Very cute, you make this at school?”

 

“She made it on the bus.”

 

“Give it back!”

 

Gabriel let her snatch it out of his fingers, ruffling her hair afterwards and earning a squawk of indignation.

 

“Start on your homework, I’ll make us all a snack.”

 

Jesse was already dropping his bag off at the kitchen table, sitting to remove his cowboy boots.

 

“I don’t have any homework,” Olivia said casually, heading straight for the stairs. Her lie was caught, though, and her path intercepted before she could even place her foot on the first step.

 

“According to the email your teacher sent me this morning, you have a paper you’re supposed to be working on for history.” The cloak of Gabriel’s reaper costume swept out in front of her, making her heave a heavy sigh.

 

“It’s not due for three weeks.”

 

“Better to start on it, now, princesa.”

 

Olivia scowled at her papa, who only grinned wider.

 

“Why aren’t you at work?” She grumbled, turning on her toes and joining her brother at the table.

 

“Because I live to make your life miserable.”

 

Aside from the mask and gloves, Gabriel didn’t remove his costume, just headed into the kitchen and hummed while he threw together a snack. Mostly fresh fruit he chopped up and mixed together in a bowl. Jesse went straight for the blueberries while he hunched over a math textbook.

 

“If you need any help, just ask,” Gabriel reminded them, giving Olivia a kiss on the head as he walked by.

 

She begrudgingly worked on her paper. It wasn't like it was a hard assignment, she just had so much time to do it! Why she needed to start on it the day it was assigned was a mystery to her. But she also knew that, despite how relaxed he looked scrolling through his computer, her papa was watching her like a hawk. Sheesh, you forget to turn in homework a few times and suddenly your teacher is emailing your parents, who stop trusting you to work in your room. It was painfully cutting into her coding time. She pulled out her school tablet with a grumpy frown and started googling potential topics.

 

It took Jesse about forty minutes to finish his work before he leaned back in his chair to stretch, long limbs everywhere.

 

“When's dad comin’ home?”

 

“He'll be off in a few, then he's picking your sister up from daycare. If you leave your work there, he'll check it when he gets home.”

 

“Nice.” Jesse gratefully got up and headed upstairs to do whatever it was gross teen boys did after school.

 

Gabriel got up from his computer to join Olivia at the table, where she had taken to doodling little skulls in the margins of her notebook.

 

“What topic did you pick?”

 

She slid her notebook over to him and Gabriel hummed in thoughtful surprise, reading the title out loud.

 

“The history and origins of urban legends; princesa, that’s a very good idea. Which one are you going to use as an example?”

 

“La llorona, duh.”

 

“Okay, but la llorona isn’t an urban legend, she’s real.”

 

Olivia rolled her eyes to match her papa’s amused gaze.

 

“I’m not stupid, papa. I know she’s just a story you made up to scare me into not going down to the riverbed.”

 

Gabriel scoffed this time.

 

“I didn’t make her up, Liv. People have known about her longer than half the city’s been here. But go ahead, do your research, you’ll find out the truth for yourself.”

 

His smile was hard to figure out as he popped a chunk of melon into his mouth and got up from the table.

 

“You can stop working when your dad gets home.”

 

_“Eugh.”_

  
  
  


Olivia could have cried from happiness when the van finally pulled into the driveway.

 

“Why’s dad driving the van?”

 

“The brakes on the car were acting funny this morning, so he took it to the shop and I agreed to work from home.”

 

A few minutes later, a tired-looking Jack came in through the garage door, carrying a toddler in a pink bunny onesie who looked like she was just waking up from a nap. Gabriel was there to greet them both warmly.

 

“Welcome home, bunny,” he cooed to the little girl, giving her a light tickle until she spit her pacifier out to laugh and bat at his hand. He took her from Jack when she reached for him, then leaned in to give his husband a quick kiss. “And welcome home, handsome.”

 

“Blech.” Olivia pretended to gag, which only caused Gabriel to give another, louder kiss, finally getting him to laugh, too.

 

“Long day?”

 

“Like you wouldn’t believe. I never realized how much work Ana actually does in a week.”

 

“You could delegate a lot of that work, you know.”

 

Jack cringed as he let himself collapse into one of the dining chairs, loosening his tie.

 

“And see the smug look of superiority on her face when she gets back? No.”

 

Gabriel chuckled, hefting the toddler up higher and giving her booty a sniff.

 

“Woof, someone needs a diaper change.”

 

“Not me!” Olivia slammed her notebook shut, ready to run upstairs. She didn’t make it passed her dad, though, as Gabe wandered off with a giggling bundle.

 

“Slow your roll, princess. You’re not even gonna say hi?”

 

Olivia sighed like it was a chore, but turned back to the table and gave her dad a hug, laying her cheek against his shoulder.

 

“Welcome home, dad,” she said quietly, feeling him press a kiss to the crown of her head.

 

“Thanks, sweetie. How was school today?”

 

She leaned against his thigh in a half-sit, telling him about a stupid Halloween prank another class tried to pull on their teacher and about how she was pretty sure the new “meatloaf” they were serving in the cafeteria was actually cooked polyps spawned from an evil meatloaf monster that the lunch ladies secretly worshiped in the school’s basement. She also told him about the topic she’d picked for her history paper, since he’d probably also received the same email her papa had gotten. He listened to every word with interest, resting his cheek against his palm, gentle smile on his face. As if listening to her nonsense was the highlight of his day.

 

Gabriel came back mid-anecdote with Hana, having changed both her diaper and her onesie. He set the green frog-child free on the carpet and went into the kitchen to start dinner.

 

“Can I read your paper when you’re done with it?”

 

Olivia nodded, reaching across the table to grab her paper mask and pulling it onto her face. She could barely make out Jack’s amused expression.

 

“Can I go code, now?”

 

“You may, but be careful going up the stairs like that.”

 

She hopped up, but felt a sharp tug on the back of her shirt that kept her from moving forward.

 

“--And don’t trip over your sister.”

 

She glanced down to find Hana sitting at her feet, looking up at her curiously. After a pause, Olivia doubled over, both hands flying up as she said, “ooga booga!”

 

Hana clapped her hands and laughed. “Ooda-ooda!”

 

Jesse passed her on the stairs, where she was carefully creeping up on all fours so she wouldn’t have to take her mask off. Regardless, he knocked it off her face without stopping, calling her a weirdo.

 

_“Eugh!”_

 

She shut her door on the sounds of Jesse and her dad going over his math homework.

  
  
  


The mask ended up next to her monitor since she couldn’t see the screen with it on. She opened a project she’d been working on for a few days. Nothing really all that special; she was trying to write a subroutine to sneak onto her brother’s computer that would take over his screen with a little parade of marching pixel skeletons blasting mariachi music anytime he tried to click on a porn site. It was going to be hilarious.

 

Strangely, though, she was finding it very hard to concentrate. Her eyes kept wandering back towards her mask while her mind kept wandering back to what her papa had said.

 

With a hiss of frustration, she saved her progress and minimized the project, pulling up her web-browser, typing in only four words.

 

_la llorona el paso_

 

It didn’t take her long to find multiple websites with information about the urban legend. A few were even solely dedicated to it. There were a lot of theories about its origins, but a lot of people seemed to agree that it started with the death of a Mexican woman back in the 1910’s, Graciela Santori Vasquez. Abused by her husband and mentally unstable, Graciela drowned both of her children in a bathtub before throwing herself into the Rio Grande. The legend of the weeping woman came about within a few years. Some people say that if you bring an offering to the river and light a candle in her honor, that your children would never drown in the river. The weeping woman would lead them away from the water’s edge, trying to right the wrongs she did to her own kids. Over time, though, the legend evolved into something else, something to warn kids from going near the water altogether; claiming that if they did, the weeping woman would pull them into a watery grave.

 

Olivia sat up in her chair with a sudden dawning as she realized what she was doing. She was doing her _homework_. Her papa had tricked her into doing her homework in her free time! She could imagine his smug, laughing face if he caught her. Her door was still shut tight, though, and there were no footsteps in the hall or on the stairs. Gabe was sneaky, though. Five years in black ops never really left him, not even into retirement from the military.

 

The lock on her door slid silently into place and she was never more grateful that her dad had been on her side about having it installed. He understood her need for privacy.

 

She almost clicked out of her browser, but hesitated. All week she’d been telling the story of la llorona to kids at school. Halloween was coming up soon, anyway. ‘Tis the season, as her papa would say. Maybe she could have some more fun with this, that way she wouldn’t feel quite so foolish about falling for her papa’s tricks.

 

The legends were meant to warn kids away from the river, but the part about offerings got her gears turning. Slowly, a smile spread across her mouth.

 

\---

 

The bell for recess rang, kids springing up from their seats and excitedly trying to be the first ones outside. Olivia, no, _Sombra_ waited in her seat, backpack resting in her lap. She double-checked it to make sure everything was there before making her way to the play-yard.

 

There were a lot of kids outside, playing ball and tag, or just sitting in groups talking. Sombra took a sharp left out of the door and headed around the side of the building, into the shade. A group of kids were already sitting here, trading cards and jokes, laughing without a care in the world. Until Sombra stopped next to them.

 

Most of them looked up, she had a new mask on, one she’d made with more care the night before. It was still a sugar skull, but this time she’d added blue under the eyes to make it look like it was crying.

 

“Cuidado con la mujer que llora!”

 

“Mujer llorando?”

 

“La llorona!”

 

She dropped her bag with a dramatic crash, but not before pulling out her masterpiece. She’d spent all night after dinner designing, cutting, and gluing together a paper-craft skull. She’d even put a little LED inside to make it light up like a jack-o-lantern. It was purple. A few of the kids gasped. Others shook their heads and went back to their game.

 

“What’s that, Sombra?” One of the girls asked. She was a mousy little thing who tended to believe everything Sombra said.

 

“Behold the offering!”

 

Sombra sat down with her legs crossed, still holding the skull aloft like an ancient relic. A few kids moved closer to her with interest in their eyes, others scooted further away. It made no difference to her. She waited, giving everyone time to settle on which side of this they wanted to be on, before continuing.

 

“A hundred years ago, the weeping woman drowned her children and took her own life in the Rio Grande. ‘ _Mis bebés’_ she cried from the dark, murky waters, _‘donde estan mis bebes?’_ ”

 

The kids leaned in closer.

 

“Every year, she seeks her children from the river, dragging down anyone who dares get close enough.” Sombra pauses the story to pretend to choke, as if long, soaked hair were wrapping around her throat. Then she snapped her head to the side, staring one of the boys directly in the eyes. “But there is a way to protect yourself.”

 

“Cómo?”

 

Sombra held the skull up again for all of them to see.

 

“The offering. Legend says that if you leave a skull lantern on the river banks, that her soul will be appeased and she will not seek any children until next year.”

 

“Sombra!” The girl gasped, “does that mean you’re offering that lantern to her?”

 

“Of course!” Sombra deigned to look offended. “It’s almost Halloween, when kids will be out on the streets, looking for candy. With this offering, I will make sure they do not also find their deaths.”

 

“You’re so brave, Sombra.”

 

“I want to help!”

 

“Me, too!”

 

Sombra grinned behind her mask and dumped the remaining contents of her backpack out. Construction paper, markers, safety scissors, and glue.

 

“The more offerings we bring her, the longer she’ll sleep.”

  


By the end of the day, five other kids had finished their skulls and promised to meet her on Friday, right after dinner, at the back of the old church. A few were nervous about sneaking out, but on a whole everyone was excited. Olivia spent the rest of the week behaving as normal, not even fighting with Jesse or her papa when they wanted her to sit at the table and do her homework. Jesse definitely knew something was up and would pester her about it in quiet whispers while they waited for the bus in the morning. One of her classmates almost blew the whole thing, asking her on the bus if she was excited about Friday night. He obviously was. But she smacked a hand over his mouth and covertly looked to the back of the bus, where Jesse dozed against the window glass with his headphones in.

 

Friday went like it did any other Friday at home, only without Jesse because he was staying over at a friend’s house. Olivia wondered if maybe she should have tried that, too, but ultimately decided that it would be easier to sneak out of her own house than someone else’s.

 

Her papa made dinner, since it was his turn, letting the mouth-watering scent of green chile soup fill the house. Olivia played with her sister on the carpet, chasing a glow-in-the-dark bouncy ball around the living and dining room, tugging on the tail of her dragon onesie anytime she got too close to it.

 

“Wiffy!” Hana squealed in delight.

 

While the three of them ate, and Hana made a huge mess, her papa spoke up.

 

“Alright princesa, the baby-sitter will be here in about an hour, right before bedtime. I don’t want you causing her any trouble this time, do you understand?”

 

Her dads had once-a-month date nights, sometimes twice a month, if they could manage it between work and the kids. They always claimed to go to the movies, but Olivia wouldn’t be surprised if they were just parking somewhere and making out in the car. Either way, it was perfect for her little adventure.

 

“I understand, papa.”

 

“Who is this time?” Jack asked between bites.

 

“O’Deorain.”

 

Olivia almost spit out her soup.

 

“What?! I hate her!”

 

“Olivia,” her papa said, sharp and stern, but Olivia turned desperately to Jack.

 

“Dad, she’s so creepy! And Jesse isn’t here to protect us!”

 

“Protect you?” Jack looked surprised, not even flinching when some of Hana’s soup landed on his shirt.

 

“She’s always looking at us like she wants to experiment on us and dissect us! The stuff she says is really weird!”

 

“She has plenty of lab rats at work, princesa. She’s not going to hurt you or your sister. As for being creepy, well, that’s just her personality.”

 

Gabe shut down any more of her arguments, leaving her to finish her dinner in misery. She reeallly didn’t like Moira and Jesse tended to stay up late when she was over, waiting for their dads to get home. It was one of the few nice things he’d do at Olivia’s request. She didn’t want that creepy woman sneaking into her room while she slept. She seemed like the type to watch kids sleep and scheme weird things.

 

Hana was asleep by the time the doorbell rang and Olivia listened to her papa answer it, welcoming Moira inside. Her eavesdropping was interrupted, however, when he dad knocked lightly and asked if he could come in.

 

He’d changed out of his soup-dirtied shirt into something else, carrying the scent of cologne and aftershave with him when he sat down on the edge of her bed and tucked her in a bit more.

 

“You know, if you go to sleep now, you won’t even have to see her.”

 

“Can I keep my door locked?”

 

“While you’re sleeping? No.”

 

Not even pouting swayed him, just made him look more amused, crooked smile on his face.

 

“You’re going to be fine, princess. We’ll be home before you know it. And…” He hesitated. “From now on, I will do my best to make sure we can get Lucio or Rosie for date nights, instead of Moira.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“I promise, sweetie. It’s important that you feel safe with your baby-sitters. I don’t ever want you to feel threatened in your own home.”

 

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. Olivia pulled her arms free of her blankets so she could hug him, too.

 

“Sleep tight, princess.”

 

“No,” she grumped playfully, flopping back against her pillow. “I will sleep as loose as I want.”

 

Jack chuckled and tucked her in again. He left her door open just a crack, clicking the hall light off before heading downstairs.

 

She almost felt a little bad, waiting for her parents to leave, listening to Moira walk around downstairs, pour herself something to drink, and turn the television on at a low volume. Her dad trusted her so much, way more than she deserved, given her track record. But she already arranged this, she couldn’t be the one to back out. Everyone at school would call her a coward.

 

When she was sure she wouldn’t be heard, Olivia crept out of bed silently and eased her door completely shut. She didn’t lock it, even though she wanted to. Instead, she got dressed quickly, grabbed her bag, and eased open her window.

 

It was worryingly easy to sneak out of her window. The roof of the back deck was flat and literally right there, she inched across one of the support beams and used the lattice side panel to climb down. She was on her bike and down the street without her baby-sitter knowing a thing.

 

The streets weren’t really all that empty as she soared down the bike lane. It was a pretty common time for runners to escape the harsh sun and dog-owners to walk their companions. Just about everyone wearing reflectors on their clothes. Olivia’s flashed on her bike with every passing vehicle.

 

Soon, the old church loomed down the road and the streets grew emptier. Two of her classmates were already waiting when she got there, another two arrived not long after her. They continued to wait, but.

 

“Where’s Dora?”

 

“Guess she pussied out,” Sombra said, zipping her hoodie up against mosquitoes. “We’re running out of time, let’s go.” Her dads would likely check on her as soon as they got home, she couldn’t afford to wait.

 

They all flipped their hoods up over their heads in a strange show of coordination, then followed Sombra’s lead as she headed off into the scrubs, holding her skull lantern and phone out for light.

 

The Rio Grande itself was a ghost of what it had likely been back in the 1910’s. The water level was low, the banks dried and cracked. The danger didn’t lie so much in drowning anymore, but more in the likelihood of being attacked by a snake or scorpion or any number of spiders. It was the snakes that worried her parents the most, she supposed.

 

Olivia wasn’t stupid and neither was Sombra, she knew not to get too close. So she picked a break in the foliage for the to stand and clicked off the light on her phone. Once everyone had lined up, she held her lantern out and the rest did the same. Five, colorful, gently glowing lanterns in the palms of preteens.

 

“La llorona!” She called out into the still of the night. Overhead, the sparse clouds lazed in front of the waxing moon. “Please accept these offerings we bring to you!”

 

She kneeled and place the skull on the ground, the rest did the same. The boy next to her nudged her quietly and passed on a few pieces of candy to go with the lanterns. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

 

Bringing her hands together in prayer, she continued, “May your spirit find peace this… harvest!”

 

“Please don’t hurt our friends!” Another girl chimed in. “Or anyone.” The rest nodded in agreement.

 

“Estar en paz,” Sombra finished, bowing her head.

 

“Estar en paz,” everyone echoed.

 

The sound of something snapping in the dark made them all jump.

 

“What was that?”

 

Still as statues, they waited to hear it again. And they _did._

 

“It’s coming from the other side,” someone whispered.

 

Though her knees were suddenly shaking, Sombra stood and called out across the river, “...hello?”

 

Above, the clouds passed by, letting the full light of the moon illuminate them and the river. One of the girls screamed.

 

Someone was standing on the opposite bank. Someone tall, in a long, white gown with long, dark hair. Her head jerked to the side, revealing part of a palled face behind the curtain of tangled hair. Pale arms raised in the moonlight, ragged voice echoing across the water.

 

_“Mis hijooossss.”_

 

The girl screamed again louder, turning on her heel and running without a second glance, one of the boys hot on her trail. Olivia didn’t move, she couldn’t.

 

“Sombra this isn’t funny!” The boy next to her shook her shoulder, but she couldn’t respond.

 

This wasn’t… real. This couldn’t be real!

 

Someone else screamed and Olivia managed to tear her eyes away from the haunting figure to their own side of the river. A large, black cloaked figure was approaching them from the water. Everyone else fled but Olivia.

 

Olivia sank to her knees, fear numbing her limbs as she could only watch. This wasn’t supposed to be real.

 

Hot tears poured from her eyes, a whimper escaping her.

 

“Daddy… I want my dad!”

 

The figure was closing in on her and she jammed her eyes shut.

 

“Daddy!”

 

“Alright, that’s enough!”

 

A gasp ripped out of her with a hard jump when she was suddenly picked up into strong arms. The smell of cologne and aftershave surrounded her and fresh tears soaked into his shirt. Olivia latched hard onto her dad and felt him carry her away. Sobs broke out of her still, every part of her body shaking and making Jack squeeze her all the tighter. He murmured soothingly, the deep rumble of his voice vibrating from his chest into hers. Slowly, she began to calm down.

 

The first thing she noticed were the lights, they were back in the parking lot for the old church, fluorescent street lamps illuminating the concrete. She could hear her papa somewhere nearby; he sounded furious, yelling in a mixture of English and Spanish. To who, she wasn’t sure, but they were definitely getting their asses handed to them.

 

Breathing a little more even, she finally looked up into her dad’s face. His tired, blue eyes looked almost stricken, frown marring his features.

 

She started crying again immediately.

 

“It’s okay, princess. You’re safe, it wasn’t real. None of it was real.”

 

“I’m sorry,” she choked out.

 

“I know you are, princess. I’m not mad.” She felt him take a shuddering breath. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not mad. I just want you to be okay.”

 

Tears clogged her throat too much to say any more, so she nodded instead. He waited and held her until she calmed down again, promising her she was safe.

 

The sound of a car pulling up finally pulled her out of the thick fog that came with crying. She looked up to finally see what was going on.

 

All of her friends were sitting on the church steps, huddled together. To the side were three teenagers, two dressed in black, the third still wearing the white dress. The wig was gone though and Olivia came to the slow realization that it was Jesse. All three of them were looking at the ground in shame while Gabriel chewed them out. Despite the fright, it wasn’t hard to figure out what happened.

 

In time the rest of their parents to show up, all of them in varying stages of worried and furious. Her papa must have called them. Jack continued to hold Olivia by the van. She was fine by that point, but got the feeling that her dad wasn’t. His hold hadn’t relaxed at all. So she stayed where she was, hugging his neck.

 

“How did you find us?” She finally worked up the courage to ask.

 

“Isadora's mom caught her trying to sneak out, got her to spill everything. She only gave her your name, though, and called us.”

 

Olivia frowned into his neck.

 

“M’sorry I ruined date night.”

 

He pressed a kiss to her hair.

 

“You can always make it up to us.”

 

She went silent again with a nod.

 

They both looked up in time to find Gabriel walking back to the van with a dejected Jesse following him, carrying Olivia’s bike.

 

“Estás bien, princesa? You didn’t get hurt?”

 

“No, papa.”

 

“Good, that’s good.”

 

She probably still looked mildly freaked out because he didn’t seem set on scolding her right away. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and gave Jesse a pointed look.

 

Her brother shuffled closer, looking absolutely ridiculous in his get up now that she could see him clearly. The shame on his face was even clearer.

 

“I’m sorry, Liv. It was a bad joke and we shouldn’ve done it. I’m really sorry.” He sounded like he meant it.

 

Olivia frowned again and looked to her dad. He nodded slightly, letting her slip down to her feet so she could meet Jesse on her own level.

 

“I forgive you, ...weirdo.”

 

The smallest smile cracked through on both their faces.

  


The ride home was quiet and tired. Olivia caught her dad glancing back at her periodically in the mirror, until her papa reached over and took his hand to hold. Jesse found a spare pack of baby wipes under the seats and cleaned the make-up off his face and arms.

 

They all trudged through the front door to find Moira in the living room with half a glass of wine, lounging in the armchair like a model. Not a trace of surprise passed her features, she just quirked a small smile and asked, “did I miss something fun?”

 

Olivia froze in her tracks.

 

“Oh I’m sure _you_ would have loved it,” Gabriel sighed.

 

Jack put a hand on Olivia’s shoulder, brows furrowed.

 

“What’s wrong, princess?”

 

She raised a shaky finger, pointing to something sitting on the coffee table.

 

“Oh that?” Moira sat up straight, swapping her wine glass for the purple paper skull lantern. It’s shape was somewhat distorted from being wet and the light inside had gone out. “Someone rang the doorbell just a little while ago. No one was there when I answered, but I found this in a puddle of water on the mat.”

 

She smiled at Olivia, holding it out, “spooky, isn’t it?”

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> jACKS POOR LITTLE HEART COULDN'T TAKE HEARING HIS DAUGHTER CRY FOR HIM LIKE THAT, OKAY??


End file.
